The Buckminster Fuller Challenge is an annual international design competition that awards $100,000 to the most comprehensive solution to a pressing global problem. The Challenge was launched in 2007 and is a program o
The Buckminster Fuller Institute
The competition, open to designers, artists, architects, students, environmentalists, and organizations world-wide, has been dubbed "Socially-Responsible Design's Highest Award" by Metropolis Magazine. According to the Buckminster Fuller Challenge website: "Winning solutions are regionally specific yet globally applicable and present a truly comprehensive, anticipatory, integrated approach to solving the world's complex problems." Furthermore, the criteria of the Challenge calls not for a stand-alone solution, but an integrated strategy that addresses social, environmental, economic and cultural issues. This is aligned with the design approach of

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing mo ...

, which he referred to as "comprehensive anticipatory design science". Winners of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge include John Todd (2008), MIT's Smart Cities Group (2009), , Allan Savory and the Africa Center for Holistic management (2010),

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(2011), the

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(2012), and

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(2015). Each year's winner is ultimately decided by an international jury of renowned whole systems thinkers and practitioners of sustainability. Former jury members include Jose Zaglul,

Alan Kay Alan Curtis Kay (born May 17, 1940) published by the Association for Computing Machinery 2012 is an American computer scientist best known for his pioneering work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface (GUI) d ...

, Mitchell Joachim, Adam Bly, Jamais Cascio, Nicholas Grimshaw,

Hunter Lovins L. Hunter Lovins ( née Sheldon, born February 26, 1950 in Middlebury, Vermont) is an American environmentalist, author, sustainable development proponent, co-founder of Rocky Mountain Institute, and president of the nonprofit organization Natura ...

William McDonough William Andrews McDonough is an American architect, designer, and author. McDonough is founding principal of William McDonough + Partners, co-founder of McDonough MBDC, and co-author of '' Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things'' ...

Janine Benyus Janine M. Benyus (born 1958) is an American natural sciences writer, innovation consultant, and author. After writing books on wildlife and animal behavior, she coined the term Biomimicry to describe intentional problem-solving design inspire ...

, and

Danny Hillis William Daniel "Danny" Hillis (born September 25, 1956) is an American inventor, entrepreneur, and computer scientist, who pioneered parallel computers and their use in artificial intelligence. He founded Thinking Machines Corporation, a parall ...

. Although there is only one winner per year, the majority of the entries received are featured on the Buckminster Fuller Challenge website within a fully searchable database known as the Idea Index.

References

External links

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The Buckminster Fuller Institute

The Idea Index
{{Buckminster Fuller Buckminster Fuller Recurring events established in 2007 Awards established in 2007 Challenge awards Invention awards